Perception Is Everything (365 Days of Spirited Living – DAY 179)

“And those who were seen dancing, were thought to be crazy, by those who could not hear the music.”— Friedrich Nietzsche

Perception is everything. People who believe they can reach their goals have a different way of perceiving things. They have positive outlooks on life and the world. They are able to stay focused on their goals even in the middle of obstacles and pressures. Faith in their ability does not come from external forces, but from internal ones.

This is the thing about external forces, internal forces, and mindset. An external force cannot produce a negative or a positive mindset. External forces do not have this power. Only internal forces do. The way you talk to yourself in your head when no one else is around to talk to you determines your mindset.

Realizing that only you have the power to change the direction of your cognition will take you a long way in life. It will help you to differentiate how you are talking to yourself and what you should be saying to yourself instead. If it is mostly negative words and language that you use to talk about your dreams, goals, talents, and abilities then this is a picture of how your mindset will be.

However, if you change your words and language to reflect a positive attitude, it will produce a positive mindset. Inner belief or a lack thereof will determine how far you go and how fast you get there. A negative mindset brings with it a host of other problems that only hinder your ability to believe, trust, and keep working. A positive mindset brings with it a host of opportunities that propel and challenge you to not see limitations at all.

Most of us see obstacles because first, that is what is in our minds, and second, because we don’t choose to believe anything else. A mindset of possibilities and success believes that there is always something better beyond the obstacle. So, that person finds a way to overcome the obstacle and ultimately reaches his goal and experiences success.

Many people look at their goals and think, “what if I fail?” That is not the question you should be asking. Failure is inevitable. There is no way we can get around failure; we must go through it. If you have not experienced any struggle at all, you need to reevaluate your goals. See if you are aiming high enough or even trying long enough.

A person with a positive mindset of growth and possibility will ask, “what if I succeed?” This is the right question. Because you will never know if you can succeed until your try. And when you try anything, there are bound to be some hiccups along the way. But a mindset of growth and possibility will not rest on the hiccups. It will stay focused on the goal and it is reached.

In this world, there are things known and things unknown. The known is what we believe will happen. It is visible to us. The unknown is what will actually happen. In between our beliefs and reality is perception. Perception holds the power to turn everything, even if it is just one degree, to focus an entirely different picture. But it all first begins in our minds. Success doesn’t just happen. It is believed, pursued, and then achieved.